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Greensboro, NC -- What happens now that Forsyth County Commissioners are appealing a ruling prayer at their meetings is unconstitutional?

Monday night, they voted to fight the ruling to the pleasure of hundreds of supporters.

"You can make a difference by standing and I'm asking you to stand and let's fight this thing," stated one such supporter to the commissioners during the meeting.

If it reaches the US Supreme Court, it's three to four years away.

But the appeal of the ruling that was made in Middle District Court in Greensboro will have to be heard first at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

The issue over prayer remains an emotional one on both sides.

The appeal process and the waiting for a ruling from the 4th Circuit Court won't offer any quick resolution to the issue, either.

And legal expert and associate professor of law at Elon University's School of Law, Scott Gaylord says it's not an automatic conclusion that this case will reach the Supreme Court.

"Typically we hear a lot about the Supreme Court cases because the cases that they decide to take are so important and so influential that it makes news and headlines across the country, but what you don't hear about are the hundreds and hundreds of cases that people seek review by the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court denies that review."

There's not a timeline on the appeal process at the 4th Circuit Court, yet.

The county's attorney plans to file their notice of appeal later this week.

He expects a timeline of the process to be available a month after they file their notice.